Attorney General Jeff Sessions to testify in public hearing

Sessions will be questioned over his role in the controversy around ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Author:
Tegna

Published:
11:43 AM EDT June 12, 2017

Updated:
11:43 AM EDT June 12, 2017

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Monday he wants his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee to be public.

"He believes it is important for the American people to hear the truth directly from him," said Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores.

Sessions is scheduled to testify Tuesday afternoon, less than a week after former FBI director James Comey told the same panel that President Trump fired him in order to interfere with the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections.

Comey also told senators that Sessions is vulnerable in the Russia probe because he may have a third, previously undisclosed meeting with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, a key figure in the investigation; Sessions disclosed only two contacts with Kislyak during his confirmation process, the reason the attorney general later gave for recusing from the investigation.